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SIGNALS
Monthly Newsletter of the
Amateur Radio Club
Volume 36 Issue 1
Web Site
http://www.w5rok.us
October 2014
*********************************************************************
RCARC
Membership Meeting
Tuesday 28 October 2014
1700 Social
1730 Meeting
1800 Program
Methodist Richardson Medical Center
At Bush/Renner/Shiloh Intersection
Second Floor Conference Room 200
their time and vehicles to patrol their neighborhoods and
report all suspicious activities to the Police Department.
Many members also patrol on foot or bicycle. This program
is to observe and report activity only.
From Frank Krizan KR1ZAN
I attended the ARRL National Centennial Convention at
Hartford, CT this past July, and, while touring the ARRL
Labs, I noted this inside the "Screen Room". Sort of like
the WW-II slogan: Kilroy was here! (Contributed by Frank
KR1ZAN)
Subject:
Program TBD
Local Club News
Meeting Notice
The program for this month was not finalized when the
newsletter was ready for publication, but the meetings are
always great, so see you on the 28th.
RCARC Community Service Activities
Siren Testing Dennis Cobb WA8ZBT, Chris Havenridge
KF5GUN, John McFadden K5TIP and Jim Skinner
WB0UNI participated in the Richardson emergency siren
testing on 1 October 2014. The testing was cancelled
shortly before noon, reportedly due to lack of personnel
qualified to operate the sirens. The siren testing is performed on the first Wednesday of each month. The sirens
are monitored by amateur radio operators and reports
made using the Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK) repeater
at 147.120 MHz.
Crime Watch Patrol Jim Skinner WB0UNI participated in
Richardson Duck Creek Crime Watch Patrol (CWP) each
Tuesday of September. CWP members, after successful
completion of mandatory Crime Watch Patrol Training,
conducted by the Richardson Police Department, volunteer
Radio Amateurs Play a Role in Separate
Storm Responses
Amateur Radio volunteers activated on opposite ends of the
US late last week and over the
weekend as separate hurricanes struck Bermuda and
Hawaii. Both regions were prepared and fared well with no
deaths, serious injuries, or major property damage reported.
(Continued on page 5)
SIGNALS
October 2014
Beltline Rd. Testing begins at 1900 hrs in room 12. Enter
through the Northern most door on the east side of the
church building. For further information contact Dave Russell W2DMR, at 972.690.9894 or E-mail warhog4
@tx,rr.com.
RCARC OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
VICE-PRESIDENT
Mike Schmit
WA9WCC
972.705.1394
maschmi2@rockwellcollins.
com
OPEN
SECRETARY
TREASURER
Jim Brown
AF5MA
972.495.2209
jhksbrown@verizon.net
Mike Montgomery
WD5TX
972.705.1498
dmmontgo@rockwellcollins.com
.
ACTIVITIES
WEBSITE MANAGER
OPEN
Mike Hollingsworth
972.571.6060
w5qh@arrl.net
W5QH
STATION TRUSTEE
NEWSLETTER EDITOR
Steve Phillips
972.517.3332
k6jt@arrl.net
Jim Skinner
214.535.5264
wb0uni@arrl.net
K6JT
DATABASE MGR
Joe Wolf
214.202.2757
n5uic@arrl.net
S I G N A L S is the monthly newsletter of the Rockwell
Collins Amateur Radio Club, published by and for its members. The entire contents of this newsletter are copyright 
2014 by the Rockwell Collins Amateur Radio Club. Permission is hereby granted to any not-for-profit amateur radio publication to reprint any portion of this newsletter provided both the author and Rockwell Collins Amateur Radio
Club are credited.
President’s Message
WB0UNI
W5ROK CLUB STATION
N5UIC
972.705.1349
461-290
VE SESSIONS
Dallas tests are held 4th Sat of each month at 1000 hrs.
13350 Floyd Rd. (Old Credit Union) Contact Bob West,
WA8YCD 972.917.6362
rd
Irving tests are held 3 Sat of each month at 0900. Fifth
and Main St. Contact Bill Revis, KF5BL 252-8015
McKinney VE test sessions are held at the Heard Museum
the first Sunday of the month. The address is 1 Nature
Place, McKinney TX. The time of the testing is 1430, ending no later than 1645. Note: no tests given on holiday
weekends.
THIS SPACE RESERVED FOR PRESIDENT’S
AND/OR VICE-PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE
Garland testing is held on the fourth Thursday of each
month, excluding November, and begins at 1930 sharp.
Location is Freeman Heights Baptist. Church, 1120 N Garland Ave, Garland (between W Walnut and Buckingham
Rd). Enter via the north driveway. A HUGE parking lot is
located behind the church. Both the parking lot and the Fellowship Hall are located on the east side of the church
building, with big signs by the entrance door. Contact Janet
Crenshaw, WB9ZPH at 972.302.9992.
Plano testing is on the third Saturday of each month, 1300
th
hrs at Williams High School, 1717 17 St. East Plano.
Check Repeater 147.180+ for announcements.
rd
Greenville testing is on the Saturday after 3 Thursday,
1000 hrs at site TBA, contact N5KA, 903.364.5306. Sponsor is Sabine Valley ARA. Repeater 146.780(-) with 118.8
tone.
Richardson The Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK) VE
team hold license testing on the third Thursday of each
month at St. Barnabas Presbyterian Church, 1220 West
2
SIGNALS
October 2014
Adjournment:
The meeting was adjourned at 1744 and followed by a
program from member Dave Jaksa W0VX on "The Why
and How of CW Operating."
Secretary's Report
23 September 2014
The meeting was called to order by Vice President Mike
Schmit WA9WCC at 1732.
The next meeting will be at 1730 on Tuesday, 28 October
2014.
The following members and guests were present at the
meeting:
Understanding Antennas For The NonTechnical Ham – Part 2
Jim Brown
AF5MA
George Huling
K5GH
Dave Jaksa
W0VX
Judi Jaksa
W0JJ
John McFadden
K5TIP
Steve Phillips
K6JT
Mike Schmit
WA9WCC
Each month for the next year or so, we are including in
SIGNALS excerpts of a book by Jim Abercrombie – N4JA
(SK) on antenna design. This series is being published in
the Maj or s Fi el d Amateur Radi o Cl ub newsletter, “Airw aves,” by our ham radio brother, Michael
Ketchum, K5MDK. We are following his lead. The book is
available online for free and can be located at http://
www.hamuniverse.com/basicantennas.pdf. Now, part 2...
Jim Skinner
WB0UNI
Understanding Antennas for the Non-Technical Ham
A Book By Jim Abercrombie, N4JA (SK)
Officers and Committee Reports:
President's Report: There was no formal President's Report.
Illustrations by Frank Wamsley, K4EFW
Edited by Judy Haynes, KC4NOR
Vice-President's Report: There was no formal Vice President's Report.
Copyright July 2005. Second Edition
Edited for the web , N4UJW
Secretary's Report: The Secretary's Report is in this newsletter.
The dipole antenna is made of a wire broken in the center
and where broken, each half of the wire connects to an insulator that divides the wire in two. Two wires from the
voltage source, which is the transmitter, are connected
across the insulator. On one side of the dipole, the current
in the form of moving electrons flows first from the voltage
source toward one end of the dipole. At the end, it reflects
toward the voltage source. The same thing occurs on the
other half of the wire on the other half cycle of alternating
current. An antenna that is the right length for the current
to reach the far end of the wire just as the polarity changes
is said to be resonant. Because electricity travels at 95%
the speed of light in a wire, the number of times the polarity changes in one second (frequency) determines how
long the wire has to be in order to be resonant.
Treasurer's Report: There was no formal Treasurer's Report.
Website Manager's Report: There was no Website Manager's Report.
Station Trustee's Report: There was no Station Trustee's
Report.
Database Manager's Report:
Manager's Report.
There was no Database
Old Business:
Mike Schmit reported that Dennis Cobb WA8ZBT will get
the Elecraft K-3 repaired using funds approved at last
month's meeting.
III. POLARIZATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES
Electromagnetic waves travel away from the wire in horizontal, vertical, slanted, or circular waves. If the antenna
wire runs horizontal or parallel to the earth, the radiation
will be horizontally polarized. A wire or conductor that runs
at right angles to the earth produces vertical radiation. A
slanted wire has components of both horizontal and vertical radiation. Crossed wires connected by proper phasing
lines that shift the phase from one wire to the other wire by
90 degrees will produce circular polarization. Amateurs
working orbiting satellites at VHF, UHF, and microwave
frequencies use circular polarization.
New Business:
RCARC officers for the new club year were nominated and
elected. Nominations were:
Mike Schmit WA9WCC for President
Jim Brown AF5MA for Secretary
Mike Montgomery WD5TX for Treasurer
There were no nominations for Vice President. The slate
of candidates was accepted and all nominees were elected
by unanimous vote of members present.
Jim Skinner WB0UNI volunteered to investigate the requirements for the annual submittal to Rockwell Collins to
maintain club funding.
When your high frequency signals are reflecting off the
ionosphere, it isn’t important if the other stations antenna
3
SIGNALS
October 2014
has the opposite polarization from yours (the polarization
does matter for line of sight communication). The reflected
polarized waves passing through the ionosphere are
slowly rotated causing fading signals (QSB). The reason
the polarization of antennas is most important is that it determines the angle of radiation. Horizontally polarized antennas at ordinary heights used by hams produce mostly
high angle radiation and weaker low angle radiation, but
this doesn’t mean there is no low angle radiation. It is
there but is weaker than high angle radiation. However,
you must put a horizontally polarized antenna up more
than one-wavelength high to get a strong low angle radiation. One wavelength is 280 feet on 80 meters, 140 feet
on 40 meters, and 70 feet on 20 meters. High angle radiation works nearby stations best and low angle radiation
works distant stations (DX) best. A vertically polarized antenna produces mostly low angle radiation, with its high
angle radiation being weak. For this reason, vertical antennas do not work as well as horizontal antennas do at
ordinary heights for working stations less than about 500
miles away.
day and hour to hour. Since the height of the ionosphere
varies, the higher the ionized layer becomes, the farther
the skip will be. We will define skip in section 5 of part V.
The part of the earth’s atmosphere called the ionosphere
is divided into three layers. The three layers are, from lowest to highest, the D layer, the E layer, and the F layer.
Each layer has a different effect on HF radio propagation.
Being at a lower altitude, the D layer molecules are
squeezed closer together by gravity than those in higher
layers, and the free electrons reattach to the molecules
easily. The D layer requires constant radiation from the
sun to maintain its ionization. Radio waves at lower frequencies such as the frequencies of the AM broadcast
band cannot penetrate this layer and are absorbed. The
higher frequency signals are able to pass through the D
layer. The D layer disappears at night causing AM broadcast stations to reflect from the higher layers. This is why
AM broadcast signals only propagate by ground wave in
the daytime and they can be received from great distances at night. Like the broadcast band, the D layer absorbs signals on 160 and to a lesser extent 80 meters during the day making those bands go dead. During solar
flares, the D layer becomes ionized so strongly that all
high frequency radio waves are absorbed, causing a radio
blackout.
IV. FREQUENCY
The number of times the polarity of an AC voltage changes
per second determines its frequency. Frequency is measured in cycles per second or Hertz (Hz). A thousand cycles
per second is a kilohertz (kHz). One million Hertz is a
Megahertz (MHz). The only difference between the 60 Hz
electric power in your house and radio frequencies (RF) is
the frequency, but 60 Hz electricity in a wire also produces
electromagnetic radiation just like radio waves. Useful radio waves start at 30 kHz and go upward in frequency until
you reach the infrared light waves. Light is the same kind
of waves as RF except light is at a much higher frequency.
Light waves are used like radio waves when they are confined inside fiber optic cable. Above the frequencies of light
are found x-rays and gamma rays. The radio bands: The
Long Wave Band (LW) starts at 30 kHz and goes to 300
kHz. The Medium Wave Band (MW) is from 300 kHz to
3000 kHz or 3 MHz. The High Frequency Band (HF) is
from 3 MHz to 30 MHz. The Very High Frequency Band
(VHF) is from 30 MHz to 300 MHz. The Ultra-High Frequency Band (UHF) is from 300 MHz to 3000 MHz or 3
GHz. Above these frequencies are several microwave
bands which are defined as the Super High Frequency
Band (SHF).
E-layer propagation is not well understood. Being at a
lower altitude than F layer, the E layer is responsible for
summertime short skip propagation on the higher high frequency bands. The skip zone is around 1000 miles, but at
times when the E-cloud covers a wide area in the summer,
double hops can be seen. A double hop occurs when the
signal reflects from the ionosphere, then returns to the
ground, reflects from the ground back to the ionosphere
where it is reflected back to the ground. A double hop can
propagate the signal 2000 miles or more. The E-layer
forms mostly during the day, and it has the highest degree
of ionization at noon. The E layer like the D layer disappears at night. Even so, sporadic-E propagation can and
does form at night. There is a minor occurrence of sporadic
E propagation during the wintertime. On rare occasions,
sporadic E propagation can surprise you by occurring anytime regardless of the sunspot cycle or the season of the
year.
The F layer is the highest layer and it is divided into two
levels: F1 and F2. At night the F1 and F2 merge into one
layer. During the day, the F1 layer doesn’t play a part in
radio propagation, but F2 does. It is responsible for most
high-frequency long distance propagation on 20 meters
and above. However, the F layer makes it possible for you
to work DX on the lower bands at night. Sunspots are responsible for the ionization layers and in years with high
sunspot numbers, worldwide contacts can be made easily
on 10-20 meters by F2 layer propagation. In years of low
sunspot numbers, working distant stations is difficult on
those bands. Consequently, ten and fifteen meters will be
completely dead most days and twenty meters will go
V. THE IONOSPHERE AND MODES OF HF
PROPAGATION
The Ionosphere
In the upper air around fifty miles and higher where the air
molecules are far apart, radiation from the sun strips electrons from oxygen molecules causing the molecules to
become ionized forming the ionosphere. The ionized oxygen molecules and its free electrons float in space forming
radio-reflecting layers. Ionization of the ionosphere varies
by the time of day, seasons of the year, and the sunspot
cycle. The strength of ionization also varies from day to
4
SIGNALS
October 2014
dead at night. In years of low sunspot numbers DX contacts are easily made at night on 160, 80, and 40 meters.
The sunspot numbers increase and decrease in 11-year
average cycles.
barely off the ground," Graves recounted. "John, VP9NI,
gave us many reports on 20 meters until losing commercial
power. With only a 20 meter NVIS antenna about 5 feet off
the ground and using the battery from a computer UPS,
John was able to continue feeding us reports hourly on 20
and 40 meters while running about 12 W." Other stations
checking into the HWN included Glen Cuoco, VP9ID, and
Ed Kelly, VP9GE. "Giving stations in the affected area advance notice of activation plans and gathering data as to
what type of antenna and power output to expect really
paid off," Graves added.
Since the curvature of the earth averages about 16 feet
every 5 miles, an object 5 miles from you on perfectly flat
earth will be 16 feet below the horizon. Because light travels in straight lines, you cannot see objects beyond the horizon. Radio waves travel in straight lines, but there are
ways to get them beyond the horizon. This is referred to as
propagation.
At WX4NHC, Julio Ripoll, WD4R, and Paul Hunt, K1MJS.
[Julio Ripoll, WD4R, photo]
Radio Amateurs Play a Role in Separate
Storm Responses
Nearly all of Bermuda's
residents lost power,
dozens of roads were
blocked by downed trees
and limbs, and some
damage to structures
was also reported.
Hurricane Gonzalo
Hurricane Gonzalo, the stronger of the two storms, was a
Category 3 hurricane when it made a near-direct hit on
Bermuda on Friday, October 17. The Hurricane Watch Net
(HWN) and the VoIP Hurricane Net (VoIPWX) gathered
ground-level weather information from the island and funneling it to the National Hurricane Center's WX4NHC.
Forecasters use these reports to better predict a storm's
path or intensity. Hurricane Specialist Stacey Stewart used
several Amateur Radio reports in NHC advisories, statements, and discussions, Assistant WX4NHC Coordinator
Julio Ripoll, WD4R, said.
Rob Macedo, KD1CY,
Director of Operations for the VoIP Hurricane Net, which
also activated for Gonzalo, said that while its key Amateur
Radio contact was not on Bermuda, it was able to gather
many reports from storm bloggers on the Caribbean Hurricane Network, social media outlets, and Weather Underground personal weather stations.
The HWN opened on Thursday, October 16, and stayed up
for some 41 hours. The net used a primary frequency of
14.325 MHz and switched to 7.268 MHz as conditions warranted.
"We had constant contact with Marion Dyer in Pembroke,
Hamilton, Bermuda, through the WhatsApp software via
cell phone, and Cell One Bermuda service did remain up
throughout the hurricane," Macedo said. Macedo said the
VoIP Hurricane Net also received post-hurricane reports
and photos from Dyer from around Bermuda.
"It was a report from John [Stevens], VP9NI, that let us
know the eye had made landfall on Bermuda," HWN Manager Bobby Graves, KB5HAV, reported. "His report made
the 9 PM AST Tropical Cyclone Update." Graves said
VP9NI's reports confirmed barometric pressure observations by Hurricane Hunter aircraft, and the NHC mentioned
his call sign in its update. VP9NI's battery finally gave out
just before midnight on Saturday, he added.
Hurricane Ana
In Hawaii, the passage of Category 1 Hurricane Ana over
the weekend was less dramatic, and the storm skipped the
most-populated island of Oahu for the most part. ARRL
Pacific Section Manager Bob Schneider, AH6J, reported
that ham radio volunteers supported shelter communications as Ana passed by Hawaii, causing heavy rain, large
waves, and some minor flooding.
Only a weekend earlier,
Tropical Storm Fay had hit
Bermuda, and Graves said
he learned during the
Gonzalo activation that Fay
had dealt Bermuda a bigger
blow than he'd first heard.
"Many hams had lost their
antennas," he said, while
other hams' antennas were
seriously damaged. Some
radio amateurs on Bermuda
quickly constructed makeshift antennas in preparation for
Gonzalo.
"A request came from American Red Cross to deploy to the
shelter at Ka'u High School in Pahala," Schneider said.
The school is in the southeastern edge of the Big Island.
"Sean Fendt, KH6SF, and I drove 45 miles and set up HF
and VHF communications." (Sean Fendt's wife
Kimberly, WH6KIM, is
the East Hawaii DEC.)
Sean Fendt, KH6SF, at
the Kau High School
shelter.[Photo courtesy
of Bob Schneider, AH6J]
"Craig [Nikolai], VP9NL, was able to give us reports in the
evening, as he only had a 40 meter dipole with one leg
"The
5
shelter
manager
SIGNALS
October 2014
was very happy to see us, because in the last [weather]
event they lost power and communications and had a full
house. This time it was almost a non-event with the hurricane staying offshore to the south and west. There was
quite a bit of rain and one road closure due to flooding.
One couple that stayed in the shelter last night had been
through several typhoons in Japan and didn't want to take
any chances, even though later forecasts showed tracks
well offshore."
Yosemite Sam threatens to blow the listener to smithereens before switching to a different frequency. An upbeat
woman delivers nonsensical strings of numbers in Mandarin. A repeating broadcast of a nursery rhyme breaks only
for a child to read numbers in German.
These are the numbers stations—a radio station on shortwave that broadcasts some sort of repetitive noise followed
by strings of numbers. Amateur tech geeks first identified
the stations after World War II. No one is sure what their
purpose is.
Schneider said those later forecast tracks did not reveal
the large amount of rain the storm brought along. The
ARES volunteers primarily used HF on 40 meters, although
they also made use of a VHF repeater that was linked to
the Big Island Wide Area Repeater Network (BIWARN).
That hasn’t stopped anyone from speculating. The most
popular theory is that the broadcasts are used to transmit
coded messages to spies and the military. Shortwave is
easy to broadcast globally, hard to trace and free of commercial traffic.
"We sent a couple of voice messages to SKYWARN headquarters located at NWS in Honolulu," Schneider recounted. "Other weather spotters were using mostly Fldigi
for messages to NWS. We were happy that there were no
serious problems and power stayed up." Read more. -Thanks to the Hurricane Watch Net, the VoIP Hurricane
Net, ARRL Pacific SM Bob Schneider, AH6J, and The
Daily DX.
(Reprinted from The ARRL Letter for October 23, 2014)
Spies or military personnel tune into the frequency at an
appointed time and use a one-time pad to decrypt the
message. The spy then destroys the pad and goes about
their mission. Anyone else listening hears a random string
of numbers with no context.
Listening to numbers stations was once the hobby of a
small margin of the population. Only those with shortwave
radios and patience to tune them reaped the benefits of the
strange broadcasts.
Two interesting Daily 40 Meter HF Nets
Central States Traffic Net 7.253.5 MHz 12:30 PM local.
Pre-Net starts at noon.
7290 Traffic Net Meets M-F, 7.290 MHz 10AM-12 Noon local & 1 PM to 2PM local and on Saturday 10AM-12 Noon.
http://www.7290trafficnet.org/ (This is a correction from the
September 2014 issue)
Now—thanks to the Internet—anyone can listen.
The University of Twente in the Netherlands maintains
web-based shortwave radio anyone can access here. The
interface is simple. Just input the frequency you want in the
box below the graphic.
Want to Listen to Spy Broadcasts? Here’s How
To get an idea of what frequencies to check out, head over
to Priyom.org—an international group researching intelligence and military communications via shortwave radio.
The site maintains a schedule of active shortwave stations
and catalogs interesting activity.
The strange transmissions of shortwave numbers stations
If you find an interesting broadcast, post it to our Facebook
page. To get you started, here are two of War is Boring’s
favorite numbers stations.
The Buzzer
Tune the dial to 4625 kHz and you’ll hear a repetitive buzzing noise. This obnoxious station goes by the call sign
UVB-76, but shortwave aficionados call it The Buzzer. The
Buzzer has been blaring that tone since the early 1980s.
On occasion, the buzzing stops. A voice comes on and
reads numbers and letters in Russian. The speculation is
that the The Buzzer has something to do with Russian military operations or intelligence, but that’s never been confirmed.
Yosemite Sam
The cranky gunslinger from old Bugs Bunny cartoons began screaming across the shortwave band around 2004.
He’s hard to pinpoint because he moves. But you can typically find him at 3700 kHz or 6500 kHz.
Hidden among the squelch and whine of the little used
shortwave radio band, mysterious stations broadcast unbreakable code.
6
SIGNALS
October 2014
Every broadcast begins with a millisecond-long
compressed data burst followed by a sound clip of Yosemite Sam. The data burst and sound clip then moves to a
higher frequency. This broadcast is repeated over a two
minute period before receding back into the darkness.
Upcoming Events
NOVEMBER
1-2
Nov Sweepstakes—CW Objective: For stations in
the United States and Canada (including territories
and possessions) to exchange QSO information
with as many other US and Canadian stations as
possible on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10 meter
bands. Contest Period: 2100 UTC Saturday
through 0259 UTC Monday. Details at
http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes.
8-9
EME—50 to 1296 MHz Objective: To work as
many amateur stations as possible via the earthmoon-earth path on any authorized amateur
frequency above 50 MHz. Contest Period: 0000
UTC on Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday.
Details at http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest.
To date, no one has decoded the data burst. Estimates
trace the signal’s origin to somewhere in the deserts of
New Mexico. Here’s a clip of the oddity.
15-17
Cold War legacy
It’s tempting to think of the numbers stations as a relic of
the past. The image of a forgotten radio transmitter blaring
out strange messages for no one is a romantic one.
DECEMBER
5-7
160 Meter Contest Objective: For Amateurs
worldwide to exchange information with W/VE
amateurs on 160-meter CW. DX-to-DX QSOs do
not count. Stations located in overseas and noncontiguous U.S. Territories may be worked by DX
stations. This includes Alaska KL7, Caribbean US
possessions KP1-KP5, and all Pacific Ocean
territories KH0-KH9, including Hawaii KH6. These
stations can work BOTH domestic stations (US and
VE) and DX stations around the world. Contest Period: 2200 UTC Friday through 1600 UTC Sunday.
Details at http://www.arrl.org/160-meter.
6-7
EME—50 to 1296 MHz Objective: To work as
many amateur stations as possible via the earthmoon-earth path on any authorized amateur frequency above 50 MHz. Contest Period: 0000 UTC
on Saturday through 2359 UTC Sunday. Details at
http://www.arrl.org/eme-contest.
But that’s false. Yosemite Sam didn’t get started until 2004.
The Buzzer’s most recently coded broadcast occurred on
July 10.
These numbers stations are still very much in use. Just ask
Cuba.
In the late 1990s, the FBI busted a group of Cuban spies
known as the Wasp’s Network. The five Cuban intelligence
officers received messages from back home via a shortwave radio station transmitting numbers. The coded messages were a large part of the FBI’s court case.
It was the only time a government publicly acknowledged
the existence and purpose of the numbers stations.
So remember as you’re listening to the repetitive buzz out
of Russia or a woman reading numbers in a foreign language—these messages are meant for someone. You
aren’t the only one listening.
REGULAR ACTIVITIES
You can follow Matthew Gault on Twitter at @mjgault. Sign
up for a daily War is Boring email update here. Subscribe
to WIB’s RSS feed here and follow the main page here.
(Reprinted courtesy of War
https://medium.com/war-is-boring)
is
Boring
Nov Sweepstakes—Phone Objective: For stations in the United States and Canada (including
territories and possessions) to exchange QSO information with as many other US and Canadian
stations as possible on 160, 80, 40, 20, 15 and 10
meter bands. Contest Period: 2100 UTC Saturday
through 0259 UTC Monday. Details at
http://www.arrl.org/sweepstakes.
Daily
DFW Early Traffic Net (NTS) at 6:30pm 146.88 –
PL 110.9Hz
Daily
DFW Late Traffic Net (NTS) at 10:30pm 146.72 –
PL 110.9Hz
Daily
Texas CW Traffic Net (NTS) at 7:00pm and at
10pm on 3541 KHz www.k6jt.com
website
st
1
Richardson Emergency Siren Test. At noon using
Wednesday the Richardson Wireless Klub (RWK) repeater at
147.120 MHz.
nd
2
ARES North Texas HF Net Every month—3860
Wednesday KHz at 830 pm—930pm
7
SIGNALS
October 2014
Rockwell-Collins
Amateur Radio Club
Mail Station 461-290
P.O. Box 833807
Richardson, TX 75083-3807
TO:
CLUB STATIONS
(972) 705-1349
W5ROK
REPEATER
441.875 MHz +5 MHz Input
131.8 Hz PL - RX and TX
W5ROK-1 PACKET BBS ROK Node
145.05 MHz
W5ROK-N1, W5ROK-N2 & W5ROK-N3 HSMMMESHNET Nodes 2.4 GHz
Tuesday 28 October 2014
1700 Social
1730 Meeting
Methodist Richardson Medical Ctr
At Bush/Renner/Shiloh Intersection
Second Floor Conference Room 200
NEXT SIGNALS INPUTS DEADLINE:
 14 November 2014 
8